Review: The St. Regis Chicago

The St. Regis Chicago is Chicago's most significant new luxury hotel opening in a decade. Designed by American architect Jeanne Gang, the 101-story tower is striking, with wavy edges that appear as though they are undulating in the sunlight. (I'm told that Gang took inspiration from the shape of a popcorn box to create the building's distinctive stacked frustum design.) 

In a city famous for its architecture, this is a glamorous new landmark, and the tallest building in the world designed by a female architect. It’s also the third-tallest building in the city, and St. Regis' first hotel in the Midwest. 

The property offers 159 guestrooms and 33 suites from the third to ninth floors, plus 393 residences spanning multiple towers. Located just a couple of blocks from Millennium Park, the skyscraper’s Gensler-designed guestrooms feature views of the Chicago River, Lake Michigan and Navy Pier. 

Every room has floor-to-ceiling windows and standalone tubs with lavender bath salts; Caroline Astor Suites even have ramen bowl-shaped bathtubs, and there’s an infinity overflow tub in the Presidential Suite. Rainfall showers include luxe bath amenities from Sachajuan and Sodashi.

Built on a site that was part of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the hotel's color palette features metallic and rust tones, as well as many shades of blue, all in a nod to the property’s location at the intersection of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. Meeting spaces all have floor-to-ceiling windows with Millennium Park or Lake Michigan views, and the Astor Ballroom boasts 30-foot-high ceilings and a spacious outdoor waterfront terrace for events.

In a city famous for its architecture, this is a glamorous new landmark, and the tallest building in the world designed by a female architect.

Attentive butlers are eager to help guests with packing and unpacking, as well as delivering complimentary coffee or tea each morning. My butler, Alejandro, ensured my sundress was perfectly pressed in time for dinner at Miru (https://www.mirurestaurant.com), the hotel's all-day dining restaurant by Lettuce Entertain You, Chicago's most successful restaurant group.

The extensive Japanese menu at Miru includes sushi, robata skewers, Miyazaki A5 wagyu steak, yakisoba noodles and miso black cod. The “signature raw” section is a highlight, with lightly dressed slices of pink sea bream, bluefin tuna and hamachi.  

Colombian pastry chef Juan Gutierrez, winner of Netflix’s “School of Chocolate,” creates his own blend of chocolate from Colombian cacao beans, but judging from the supple, springy texture of the homemade mochi in his black sesame mochi dessert, his Japanese technique is strong, too — and his French culinary skills, if the flaky morning croissants are any indication. Try the Tokyo breakfast if you're looking for a more substantial meal, with grilled salmon, miso soup, an onsen egg, nori, rice and tsukemono Japanese pickles.

Miru's expansive rooftop terrace has some of the best views of the city, with a nightly sabrage ritual and complimentary flutes of champagne, in signature St. Regis style. The terrace is also the best vantage point for Navy Pier's summer fireworks every Wednesday and Saturday evening. Later this year, guests will have another onsite dining option in Tre Dita Restaurant, a Tuscan steakhouse by Chef Evan Funke. The menu is sure to highlight the chef’s renowned handmade pastas. 

The onsite St. Regis Spa is a 12,000-square-foot oasis, with an outdoor sundeck, a heated swimming pool overlooking Lake Michigan and a yoga studio with complimentary fitness classes nearly every day. The mat Pilates class that incorporates the use of a foam roller is a fabulous way to start the day. 

Later, I settled into a massage chair for a plush pedicure that began with a thorough foot scrub and massage, followed by a hydrating foot masque with warm booties and quick-drying Dazzle Dry polish.

St. Regis Chicago has built a strong opening team, attracting the city's top talent across all departments and the results are impressive. Service standards are top notch, communication among employees is excellent and the guest experience is remarkably seamless for such a new property.